System And Apparatus For Financial Education, Entrepreneurship Education And Life Management

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for financial education, entrepreneurship education and life management. The apparatus can include a housing, at least one storage compartment received within the housing and including an interior cavity, a coin acceptor assembly adapted to receive a coin, determine the denomination of the coin, and deposit the coin into the storage compartment, electronic circuitry communicatively coupled to the coin acceptor assembly, a display device communicatively coupled to the electronic circuitry, at least one input device communicatively coupled to the electronic circuitry, wherein the electronic circuitry includes at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executable instructions and a processor adapted to execute the instructions, wherein the instructions are adapted to display a graphic interface on the display device, and to receive input from a user via the at least one input device, so as to allow the user to manage a user account, the user account including a monetary balance.

BACKGROUND

Having a well-developed sense of fiscal responsibility and financialliteracy is crucial to life in a market-based economy. Individuals whodevelop positive financial habits are better equipped to make choicesthat lead to an improved financial situation. Such choices can includesmart spending, savings, investment, avoiding debt, and so forth.

Even though an early start to developing financial literacy is crucialfor developing good financial habits, financial literacy is rarelytaught in the educational system. Parents who wish to teach financialliteracy to their children typically have to develop their own plans andfind educational material that is age-appropriate for the children.Additionally, it may be difficult to present such subjects to youngerchildren, who may not find the subject matter entertaining.

Furthermore, nurturing tomorrow's leaders is an essential tool to helpgrow good local jobs and diversify local economies, making them moreresilient in the face of change. Entrepreneurship skills are essentialin the 21st century because they are not only required to develop futureentrepreneurs but are also beneficial for existing jobs that requireemployees to be entrepreneurial as well. While the key concepts ofentrepreneurship and business can be taught at any time during aperson's life, the attitudes and values associated with becoming asuccessful entrepreneur are more likely to develop if they are exploredand nurtured at a young age. Therefore, children are more likely todevelop skills that can help them thrive and succeed in life bothprofessionally as well as personally if they are exposed toentrepreneurship and an entrepreneurial business environment at a youngage.

Additionally, the 21^(st) century is marked by ever increasingcomplexities and challenges that requires children to manage their livesin a responsible, organized and efficient way. Children also live in anera of technology driven environments, where there is an overflow ofinformation that often requires rapid adjustments to life'sresponsibilities. It is therefore crucial for today's children todevelop good core life managerial and organizational skills at a youngage so as to prepare them to lead successful and prosperous lives asadults.

A way to provide age-appropriate financial, business, andentrepreneurship education to children of various ages in anentertaining and life-applicable manner is therefore desired. A way toprovide age-appropriate life management tools and systems to children ofvarious ages in an entertaining and life-applicable manner is alsodesired.

SUMMARY

According to at least one exemplary embodiment, an apparatus forfinancial education, entrepreneurship education and life management isdisclosed. The apparatus can include a housing, at least one storagecompartment received within the housing and including an interiorcavity, a coin acceptor assembly adapted to receive a coin, determinethe denomination of the coin, and deposit the coin into the storagecompartment, electronic circuitry communicatively coupled to the coinacceptor assembly, a display device communicatively coupled to theelectronic circuitry, at least one input device communicatively coupledto the electronic circuitry, wherein the electronic circuitry includesat least one non-transitory computer-readable medium storing executableinstructions and a processor adapted to execute the instructions,wherein the instructions are adapted to display a graphic interface onthe display device, and to receive input from a user via the at leastone input device, so as to allow the user to manage a user account, theuser account including a monetary balance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments. Thefollowing detailed description should be considered in conjunction withthe accompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1a is a front view of an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus forfinancial education, entrepreneurship education and life management.

FIG. 1b is a view of a housing for an exemplary embodiment of anapparatus for financial education, entrepreneurship education and lifemanagement.

FIG. 1c shows various configurations of compartments of the housing.

FIG. 1d shows a coin acceptor assembly for an exemplary embodiment of anapparatus for financial education, entrepreneurship education and lifemanagement.

FIG. 1e is a side view for an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus forfinancial education, entrepreneurship education and life management.

FIG. 1f is a diagram showing the electrical components of an exemplaryembodiment of an apparatus for financial education, entrepreneurshipeducation and life management.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary system for financial education,entrepreneurship education and life management.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing exemplary software for an apparatus forfinancial education, entrepreneurship education and life management.

FIGS. 4-8 show exemplary interfaces for software for an apparatus forfinancial education, entrepreneurship education and life management.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the invention are disclosed in the following description andrelated drawings directed to specific embodiments of the invention.Alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spiritor the scope of the invention. Additionally, well-known elements ofexemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detailor will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of theinvention. Further, to facilitate an understanding of the descriptiondiscussion of several terms used herein follows.

As used herein, the word “exemplary” means “serving as an example,instance or illustration.” The embodiments described herein are notlimiting, but rather are exemplary only. It should be understood thatthe described embodiment are not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Moreover, the terms“embodiments of the invention”, “embodiments” or “invention” do notrequire that all embodiments of the invention include the discussedfeature, advantage or mode of operation.

Further, many of the embodiments described herein are described in termsof sequences of actions to be performed by, for example, elements of acomputing device. It should be recognized by those skilled in the artthat the various sequence of actions described herein can be performedby specific circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuits(ASICs)) and/or by program instructions executed by at least oneprocessor. Additionally, the sequence of actions described herein can beembodied entirely within any form of computer-readable storage mediumsuch that execution of the sequence of actions enables the processor toperform the functionality described herein. Thus, the various aspects ofthe present invention may be embodied in a number of different forms,all of which have been contemplated to be within the scope of theclaimed subject matter. In addition, for each of the embodimentsdescribed herein, the corresponding form of any such embodiments may bedescribed herein as, for example, “a computer configured to” perform thedescribed action.

Referring to FIGS. 1a-1f , and according to at least one exemplaryembodiment, a financial education, entrepreneurship education and lifemanagement apparatus 100 is disclosed. The financial education,entrepreneurship education and life management apparatus 100 can includea housing 102, coverable by a cap 104 and including at least one storagecompartment 106. The housing 102 may be coupleable to a base 108, whichcan contain a plurality of electronic components for the operation ofapparatus 100. The base 108 can be adapted to be placed on a tabletop orsimilar surface, or to be coupled to a plurality of legs so as to allowapparatus 100 to be elevated above a floor or a similar surface.

Housing 102 can enclose a cavity 110 into which a plurality of storagecompartments 106 may be placed. In an exemplary embodiment, the numberof storage compartments 106 that may be disposed inside housing 102 mayrange from one to five compartments. Furthermore, in the exemplaryembodiment, housing 102 may have a cylindrical shape. Accordingly, eachstorage compartment 106 may be shaped as a sector of the cylinder, suchthat the fraction of housing 102 occupied by each compartment 106 is theinverse of the number of compartments 106 disposed within housing 102.FIG. 1c shows top plan views of the various configurations ofcompartments 106 within housing 102. The amount of compartments 106 canbe varied according to the amount of users registered with a particularapparatus 100. Thus, in the exemplary embodiment, apparatus 100 mayaccommodate between one and five registered users.

Each compartment 106 can include a plurality of side walls 112, a closedbottom end 114, and an open top end 116. Each compartment 106 mayfurther include at least one lip 118 disposed at the open top end 116thereof. The lip 118 may be coupled to a side wall 112 and projecthorizontally therefrom into the interior of the compartment 106. The lipcan facilitate the removal of compartment 106 from cavity 110, forexample by allowing the user to place their finger or hand under the lip118 and lift the compartment out of housing 102.

Each compartment 106 may be used to store currency therein, for examplecoin currency. Each compartment 106 may further include at least onepocket 120, which may be coupled to a side wall 112 on the interior sidethereof and proximate the top end 116 of compartment 106. Pocket 120 maybe adapted to store paper currency, as well as other paper-basedinstruments such as checks, IOU notes, and the like.

Housing 102 and compartments 106 may be made from any desired material.In one exemplary embodiment, housing 102 and compartments 106 may bemade from a translucent plastic, allowing users of apparatus 100 to viewthe contents of compartments 106. Compartments 106 may be made from acolored translucent plastic, with each compartment 106 being used withapparatus 100 having a different color, thereby enabling each user toeasily identify their particular compartment and to view the contentsthereof.

A cap 104 may be removably coupled to housing 102 in any desired manner,for example by threaded engagement, friction fit, or the like. In someexemplary embodiments, the cap 104 may be swivelably coupled to housing102 via a swivel-hinge assembly coupled to the upper edge of housing 102and the lower edge of cap 104. The cap 104 may be swiveled to the sideof housing 102, or may be otherwise removed, so as to expose theinterior cavity 110 and to allow access to storage compartments 106,thereby allowing the user to place or withdraw currency or otherfinancial instruments to or from the compartments.

Additionally, cap 104 can include a coin acceptor assembly 122. The coinacceptor assembly 122 may be mounted in a housing which may be coupledto cap 104 and disposed in the interior of cap 104. Coin acceptorassembly 122 can include a coin slot 124, accessible from the exteriorof cap 104, and a plurality of coin distribution channels 126, as shownin FIG. 1d . Each coin distribution channel 126 can correspond to aparticular compartment 106. The coin acceptor assembly can further beadapted to identify the denominations and quantities of the coincurrency deposited therein. The coin acceptor assembly may be any coinacceptor assembly known in the art that enables apparatus 100 tofunction as described herein. Furthermore, the coin acceptor assemblymay be adapted to direct a coin from slot 124 to a selected coindistribution channel of the plurality of coin distribution channels 126.This may be accomplished by flaps, baffles, pins, or any structuresknown in the art that enable apparatus 100 to function as describedherein.

Cap 104 can further include a camera 128 and a motion sensor 130. Bothcamera 128 and motion sensor 130 can be positioned such that they face auser of apparatus 100 when cap 104 is in a closed configuration. Camera128 and motion sensor 130 may further have a wide angle viewing ordetection range. The camera 128 and motion sensor 130 may be providedusing any known components that enable apparatus 100 to function asdescribed herein.

In some exemplary embodiments, housing 102 may be shaped as a triangularprism. In such an embodiment, housing 102 may include three compartments106, while cap 104 may include three coin acceptor assemblies 122. Eachcoin acceptor assembly 122 can correspond to a particular compartment106, and can include a coin slot 124 and a single coin channel 126. Infurther exemplary embodiments, housing 102 may be provided in anydesired shape that enables apparatus 100 to function as describedherein.

Detachably coupled to the lower end of housing 102 may be a base 108.The detachable coupling between housing 102 and base 108 may be effectedin any known manner. Disposed on a bottom surface of base 108 may be aplurality of footpads 160, which may facilitate supporting apparatus 100on a surface such as a table or desk top. Footpads 160 may be formedfrom any suitable material such as rubber. A stand 162 may further bedetachably coupleable to a bottom surface of base 108. Stand 162 mayinclude a plurality of telescoping legs 164, and can facilitatesupporting apparatus 100 on a surface such as a floor, as well aspositioning apparatus 100 at a desired height above the surface.

Disposed within base 108 can be the electronic circuitry and hardwarecomponents 131 of apparatus 100, including a circuit board 132, and abus 133 or other communicating mechanism for communicating information,as shown in FIG. 1f . The printed circuit board 132 may be used tomechanically support and electrically connect the electronic hardwarecomponents of apparatus 100, and may be secured to base 108 by afastener or an adhesive. Communicatively coupled to circuit board 132and bus 133 may be a processor 134 for processing information, mainmemory 136 such as random access memory or other dynamic storage devicecoupled to the bus for storing information, at least one non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium 138 which may be one or more of a harddrive, a flash-based drive, and read only memory. The storage medium 138may store software 300 for executing the various processes of apparatus100, as well as at least one database 139 containing user data andmultimedia data for use with software 300.

Communicatively coupled to circuit board 132 may further be a displaycontroller and graphics processing unit 140 such as a video card, atleast one wired communications interface 142 such as an Ethernet port,at least one wireless communication interface 144, for example an 802.11communications interface, a Bluetooth communications interface, or thelike. Interfaces 142 and 144 may be used to connect apparatus 100 to alocal-area network, to another computing device, or to the Internet.Furthermore, base 108 can include at least one communication adapter146, which may be one or more of a USB adapter, Lightning adapter, aserial or parallel adapter or any other known communications adapterthat may be used to connect apparatus 100 to other computing devices.

A sound processing unit 147 may be communicatively coupled to circuitboard 132 and to speakers 148 disposed within base 108. Speakers 148 mayemit audio via apertures provided in base 108. For example,micro-apertures may be provided in the upper surface of base 108.Additionally, a microphone 149 may be communicatively coupled to circuitboard 132 and may be disposed on base 108 in a location facing the user.

A heat sink and cooling fan may further be disposed within base 108 soas to provide cooling to the hardware components 131 of apparatus 100. Aplurality of apertures, such as microapertures, slits, or other anyother openings may be provided in the enclosure of base 108, for exampleon the sides of base 108, so as to allow heat exchange between thehardware components 131 and the external environment.

Graphics processing unit 140 may be communicatively coupled to display154 which may be disposed above and coupled to base 108 and positionedfacing a user of apparatus 100. Display 154 may be, for example, athin-profile display such as an LCD or an OLED display. Display 154 mayfurther be a touch-screen display. Base 108 can further include akeyboard 156 and a pointing device 157 such as a mouse, trackball, ortrackpad. Keyboard 156 may be positioned facing the user and belowdisplay 154. Keyboard 156 may further be retractable into a cavity 158defined within base 108 for receiving the keyboard.

The camera 128, motion sensor 130, and coin acceptor assembly 122 canalso be communicatively coupled to circuit board 134. The coin acceptorassembly 122 can be in communication with software 300. For example, thecoin acceptor assembly may be controlled by processor 134 and software300 so as to direct the deposited coins into a particular coindistribution channel 126. Furthermore, the coin acceptor assembly 122may communicate to software 300 the denominations and quantities of thecoins deposited via the coin acceptor assembly.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary embodiment of a financial education,entrepreneurship education and life management system 200. The financialeducation, entrepreneurship education and life management system caninclude financial management education apparatus 100. Communicativelycoupled to apparatus 100 may be software 300, which can be adapted tomanage the hardware resources of apparatus 100. Software 300 can furtherinclude a graphical user interface and various programs and utilityapplications that allow a user to interact with software 300 and toutilize the functionality of apparatus 100.

The financial education, entrepreneurship education and life managementsystem 200 can include a plurality of accounts that are associated witha particular financial management education apparatus 100. Such accountscan include user accounts 202 and administrator accounts 204. A useraccount 202 can be created for each user of apparatus 100 and associatedwith a specific container 106 of apparatus 100. Administrator accounts204 can be created for any desired administrator of a particularapparatus 100, such as parents, guardians, and other household adults.The administrator accounts can have greater permissions than, anddiverse functionality from user accounts 202, as described furtherbelow. The administrator accounts can further define access rights andprivileges for user accounts on a common apparatus 100, as well asprovide incentives for the user accounts to perform desired activitieson apparatus 100 and software 300, as described further below. Both useraccounts 202 and administrator accounts 204 can log into software 300via the interfaces thereof. Data related to user accounts 202 andadministrator accounts 204 may be stored on database 139 of apparatus100.

Financial education, entrepreneurship education and life managementsystem 200 can further include at least one server 206. Server 206 maybe communicatively coupled to software 300 of apparatus 100 via awide-area network such as the internet. Server 206 may include anon-transitory computer-readable medium on which at least one database208 may be stored. Each apparatus 100 may be registered with server 206and data related thereto may be stored or mirrored on database 208.Additionally, data related to user accounts 202 and administratoraccounts 204 associated with each registered apparatus 100 may also bestored or mirrored on database 208.

Both users 202 and administrators 206 can log into server 206 so as toaccess their accounts and the data related thereto, as well as to manageaspects and configurations of apparatus 100. Logging into server 206 maybe accomplished directly via apparatus 100 and software 300, or remotelywithout utilizing apparatus 100. Remote login may be accomplished, forexample, via a web interface that may be accessed by any computingdevice 210, or via a custom application for a mobile device 212. Thus,server 206 can offer a cloud-based storage system for data relating toeach apparatus 100 and its accounts, and data may be synced between theapparatus 100, server 206, web interface for a computing device 210, andapplication for a mobile device 212.

System 200 can further allow for registration of multiple affiliates214. The affiliates 214 may provide desired goods, services andinformation to users and administrators of apparatus 100. Such affiliateaccounts can include, for example, financial institutions such ascommercial banks, investment brokerage firms, retail establishments,prospective employers, advisors, consultants and educationalinstitutions, and so forth. The users 202 and administrators 204 of eachapparatus 100 can communicate with affiliates 214 via correspondingutility applications 314 provided as part of software 300 of apparatus100, via the web interface for computing devices 210, and via theapplication for mobile devices 212.

FIG. 3 shows an exemplary diagram of software 300 for a financialmanagement education, entrepreneurship education and life managementapparatus 100. An operating system 302 which can manage the hardwareresources of the apparatus 100 and can provide common services forvarious software programs 304. The operating system 302 can act as anintermediary between the software applications and the hardwarecomponents of apparatus 100, and can manage inputs, outputs and memoryallocation. Additionally, the operating system 302 can include a graphicuser interface which can be displayed on display device 154.

Software 300 can include a plurality of software programs 304. Programs304 can include facial recognition software 306, currency recognitionsoftware 308, cartoonization software 310, and interactive voice commandsoftware 312. Programs 304 can further include a plurality of utilityapplications 314. The utility applications 314 can allow for userinteraction with various financial management, entrepreneurship and lifemanagement features and other related features provided by apparatus100. The applications 314 can include Deposit, Withdraw, My Account, MyBanking, My Investments, My Shopping, My Chores, My Jobs, My Barter &Sales Exchange, My Financial Planner, My Business World, MyCrowdfunding, My Homework, My Life Points, My Websites, My Life Boards,My Games, My Private Advisor, My financial Resources, My Message Board,My Chat Room, My Money Facts, Life Share and the Life Hub News & Press.

Software 300 can also facilitate the interoperability and interactivityof the money management and accounting systems as well as computationsand visual graphic illustrations. Software 300 can also facilitateinteractivity and connectivity with affiliates such as retailers,prospective employers, educators, educational institutions, banking andinvestment brokerage firms, and other third parties, affiliates andpartners. Software 300 can further facilitate a variety of entertainingand engaging audio and visual programming features on a variety ofscreens through the utility applications, including but not limited to,welcome greetings on accessed screens, salutations on accessed screens,achieved savings goals, product and service information, date and timestamp on screens and variety of queries and information on accessedscreens.

In some exemplary embodiments, facial recognition software 306 canutilize camera 128 so as to provide functions and features that allowapparatus 100 to interact with the user. For example, if a user ispositioned facing camera 128, facial recognition software 306 canrecognize the user's facial features and direct software 300 to displayan interface for the particular user's account, for example the user'shome screen. A user can register their facial features or image withsoftware 300, for example during a set up phase or a later stage byaccessing the appropriate menus via the graphic user interface forsoftware 300.

In some exemplary embodiments, facial recognition software 306 canfacilitate directing coin acceptor assembly 122 to pivot or switch to anorientation that allows coins deposited through slot 124 to be directedto the coin distribution channel 126 that corresponds to the user'sparticular compartment 106.

Additionally, in some exemplary embodiments, facial recognition software306 can recognize a user and can facilitate directing software 300 todisplay audio and visual content that is customized for the user basedon the user's preferences, age, and any other desired criteria. Theaudio and visual content can include, for example, audio and visualwelcome greetings, animations, and video sequences that welcome the useror provide entertaining, educational, or otherwise relevant informationto the user.

In some exemplary embodiments, currency recognition software 308, canutilize camera 128 so as to allow the user to deposit paper currencyinto their account without manual value entry of the paper currency. Forexample, a user may hold a paper currency note in front of camera 128for a specified period of time, allowing currency recognition software308 to process image data from camera 128 and to identify thedenomination of the paper currency note. Software 300 can then creditthe user's account with the monetary value of the paper currency.Subsequently, audio and visual prompts or instructions can be emittedfrom the speakers 148 and/or displayed on display 154, instructing theuser to remove the cap 104 and deposit the paper currency in the user'sparticular compartment 106.

In some exemplary embodiments, image cartoonization software 310 canallow a user to convert their photographic images into digitalcartoonized images, thereby creating self-images of the user. Suchimages may be used as a profile picture of the user, may be incorporatedinto story lines and scenes in graphic or video sequences displayed bysoftware 300. A plurality of cartoonized images may be associated with auser and may be stored in an image library managed by the user.

In some exemplary embodiments, interactive voice command software 312,can allow the user to interact with software 300 via voice commandsinstead of physical data input devices.

Turning to FIGS. 4-6 c, exemplary interfaces of software 300 as well asthe various software applications 314 for interacting with apparatus 100are disclosed. Software 300 can include a graphic user interface (GUI)that can allow users and administrators to operate and interact withapparatus 100 and applications 314 by touching or clicking variouswidgets such as tiles, buttons, icons, boxes, entry boxes and pop updialog windows. Users and administrators can interact with theinterfaces of software 300 via input devices such as a keyboard, mouse,or trackpad, or via a touch-screen display.

Users and administrators can log into their respective accounts via alogin screen, displayed, for example, at startup or after logout. Thelogin screen can display all user accounts registered with software 300,for example, as colored image boxes on the login screen. The coloredimage boxes may be customized and personalized as desired by the user oradministrator. Users may log in to software 300 by selecting acorresponding box and entering a password. A separate administrator tilecan allow administrators to log into software 300 by entering theadministrator username and password.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary main menu interface 400 for software 300. Mainmenu interface 400 can be provided to a user of apparatus 100 and caninclude a plurality of tiles 402 that the user can select to accesscorresponding software applications 314. Such tiles can include, forexample, Deposit, Withdraw, My Account, My Banking, My Investments, Myshopping, My Chores, My Jobs, My Barter & Sale Exchange, My FinancialPlanner, My Business World, My Crowdfunding, My Homework, My LifePoints, My Website, My Life Boards, My Games, My Private Advisor, MyFinancial Resources, My Message Board, My Chat Room, My Money Facts,Life Share and Life Hub News & Press.

The GUI of software 300 can also include a menu bar 404, a tool box 406and a real-time live streamer 408. Elements 404, 406, 408 may bedisplayed throughout the various interfaces of software 300, allowingthe user convenient shortcuts to various features of the software.

The menu bar 404 can include navigational tools in the form of drop downmenus that allow the user to access and manage a variety of software andutility features, functions, settings and instructional information. Themenu bar can include a plurality of options including Users,Administrators, Operations, Personalization, Utilities, Security,Mobile, Software, Hardware and Help.

The Users menu can allow the user to access and manage a variety offeatures, functions and settings and information pertaining to users.The Users menu can include a plurality of options, including AboutUsers, Profiles, Preferences, Personal Folder, Notifications & Alerts,Archives, Address Book and Access log. The Profiles menu option can alsoinclude a submenu with options relating to Hub Profiles, Barter & SalesProfile, Jobs Profile, Crowdfunding Profile, Shopper Profile, MessagesProfile and Chat Room Profile.

The Administrators menu can allow an administrator to access and managea variety of features, functions and settings and information pertainingto administrators.

The Administrators menu can include a plurality of menu optionsincluding About Administrators, Administrator Profile, ParentalControls, Notifications & Alerts, Life Points, Chores Scheduler, PrivateAdvisor, Usage History, Mobile Settings and Master Access. The ParentalControls menu option can also include a submenu that includes HubRestrictions, Web Restrictions and Monitoring. The Life Points menuoption can also include a submenu that includes Schedule and ConversionRate. The Master Access menu option can also include a submenu thatincludes Deposits, Withdrawals, User Accounts, Banking, Investments,Shopping, Chores, Jobs, Barter & Sales Exchange, Financial Planner,Business World, Crowdfunding, Homework, Life Points, Websites, LifeBoards, Games, Private Advisor, Financial Resources, Message Board, ChatRoom and Money Facts.

The Operations menu can allow the user to access and manage a variety offeatures, functions, settings and information pertaining to operationsof apparatus 100. The Operations menu option can include a plurality ofmenus including About Operations, Money Chambers, Sleep Settings,Deposit Settings, Withdrawal Settings, Language Settings and PrivacySettings.

The Personalization menu can allow the user to access and manage avariety of features, functions, settings and information pertaining topersonalization of a user's account. The Personalization menu caninclude a plurality of menu options pertaining to About Personalization,Personalization Settings, Photos, Cartoonization, Backgrounds, Text &Textures and Art & Image Library. The Photos menu option alsoincorporates a submenu that includes Hub Photos and Mobile Photos.

The Utilities menu can allow the user to access and manage a variety offeatures, functions, settings and information pertaining to the variousutilities of software 300. The Utilities menu can include a plurality ofoptions including About Utilities, Tool Box, Live Streamer Settings,Email Activation, Email Settings and Email Access. The Security menu canallow the user to access and manage a variety of features, functions,settings and information pertaining to security of the user's account.

The Security menu can allow the user to access and manage a variety offeatures, functions, and information pertaining to security features ofsoftware 300. The Security menu can include a plurality of optionsincluding About Security, User Password and Administrator Password. TheAdministrator Password menu option also incorporates a second tier dropdown menu that includes Universal Access Password.

The Mobile menu can allow the user to access and manage a variety offeatures, functions, settings and information pertaining to applicationsfor mobile devices 212, which can be used to access a user's account,for example on server 206. The Mobile menu can include a plurality ofoptions including About Mobile, Mobile Activation, Mobile Notifications& Alerts and Mobile Downloads.

The Software menu can allow the user to access and manage a variety offeatures, functions, settings and information pertaining to the software300 of apparatus 100. The Software menu can include a plurality ofoptions including About Software, Content Registration, ContentDownloads, Animations Registration, Animation Downloads, FacialRecognition, Currency Recognition, Interactive Voice Commands,Cartoonization Software and Software Updates.

The Hardware menu can allow the user to access and manage a variety offeatures, functions, settings and information pertaining to the hardwarecomponents of apparatus 100. The Hardware menu can include a pluralityof options including About Camera & Motion, Camera Settings, MotionSensor Settings, Internet Connectivity, Audio Controls and VisualControls.

The Help menu can allow the user to access and manage a variety offeatures, functions, settings and information pertaining to software andhardware assistance, user help, instructional information and otherinformation. The Help menu can include a plurality of options includingAbout Life Hub, Getting Started Guide, Set Up Instructions, FAQ, PrivacyPolicy, Online Help and Technical Support.

Tool box 406 can include a plurality of widgets, which may also beaccessible via keyboard hot keys, that provide the user with quickaccess to a variety of utility functions and features, including butlimited to, printing, snipping, posting, calculating and accessing theInternet with a single touch or click command. The tool box 406 may bepositioned in any desired area of the interface, and can include aplurality of tool icons including Print, Save to Folder, Post ToFacebook, Email, Screen Shot, Calendar, Internet Browser, Calculator,Picture Camera, Snip Scissors, Post To Website, Notepad and Home. Theuser can activate and deactivate via the Tool Box menu option of theUtilities menu. The Print tool can allow the user to print any pagedisplayed on the screen. The Save To Folder tool can allow the user tocopy and save any page to the user's personal folder. The Post ToFacebook tool can allow the user to copy and post the displayed screento the user's Facebook page. The Email tool can allow the user to emailas an attachment any page displayed on the screen. The Screen Shot toolcan allow the user to capture a screen shot of web content on the screendisplay. Captured screen shot images can be emailed, posted to theuser's Facebook page and saved into the user's personal folder. TheCalendar tool can provide the user with a calendar that can used to setschedules and reminders. The Internet Browser tool can allow the user toaccess and display a web browser to access the Internet. The Calculatortool can allow the user to display a calculator on the GUI. The PictureCamera tool can allow the user to activate camera 128 so as to capturean image. The Snip Scissors tool can allow the user to snip and captureany portion of the screen including software interfaces and web contentand instantly post to the user's Life Board. Snipped images can also beemailed, posted to the user's Facebook page and saved into the user'spersonal folder. The Post to Website tool can allow the user toinstantly post any content on the GUI including Life Boards, images andmoney facts to the user's website. The Notepad tool can allow the userto access a notepad to create and save notes. The Home tool can allowthe user to instantly revert to the Home screen.

The streamer 408 can present the user with a constantly updating streamof information, data, news, as well as notifications pertaining to thefunctionality, features and utilities of apparatus 100. The user cancustomize the streamer to stream and display any desired information,including but limited to, stock quotes, messages, money quote of day,business mantras, financial news briefs, new content notifications, newchores and job assignments, affiliated retailers' messages, money factsbriefs, Barter & Sale Exchange notifications and savings balances and soforth. The streamer may be customized via the Streamer Settings and LiveStreamer Settings options of the Utilities menu.

Turning to FIGS. 5a-5f , a user can deposit funds into their accountwith apparatus 100 by using the Deposit application. As shown in FIG. 5a, the main interface 500 of the Deposit application can include aplurality of deposit options 502. The deposit options 502 can allow theuser to deposit funds in a variety of manners, including manual deposit,electronic deposit, camera deposit, and hybrid deposit.

The manual deposit option can allow the user to deposit funds simply byremoving the cap 104 of housing 102, and placing any desired funds intothe user's corresponding compartment 106. Funds that may be depositedmanually include paper currency, coin currency, checks, IOUs, and soforth. If a user selects the manual deposit option, the user may bepresented with the deposit fund type selection interface 504, shown inFIG. 5b , which can list the fund types or combinations of fund types506 that the user can deposit. Once the user selects an appropriate fundtype option, a funds quantity interface 508 may be displayed to a user.

The funds quantity interface 508 can include one or more fund typecategories 510, with the particular categories displayed depending onthe fund type option that the user had selected in interface 504. In theexemplary interface 508 shown in FIG. 5c , the user has selected todeposit paper currency, coin currency, and checks/IOUs. Each fund typecategory 510 can include a plurality of entry boxes 512 that allow theuser to enter the quantity of each denomination of each currency type,or the dollar value of each check or IOU that is being deposited. Asubtotal entry box 514 can allow the user to enter a sum for each fundtype category, and a total entry box 516 can allow the user to enter thetotal sum of all funds that are being deposited.

The user may configure software 300, for example by accessing theDeposit Settings option of the Operations menu, to either request thatthe user manually enter totals and subtotals in entry boxes 514, 516, orto calculate the totals and subtotals automatically. If the manualoption is selected, the software can check the user's entries todetermine that the sums are correct. If the automatic option isselected, the software can simply display the sums. If the sums areincorrect, the user may be prompted to reenter the correct sum. If thesums are correct or automatically calculated, the user can selectdeposit widget 518 to display a confirmation interface 520, shown inFIG. 5 d.

The deposit confirmation interface 520 can display to the user theentered denominations, quantities, subtotals, and total for all fundtypes. Additionally, the confirmation interface can provide the userwith confirmation options 522, including confirm and finish, confirm andallocate, confirm and source, and confirm and new deposit. Selectingconfirm and finish confirms the deposit and returns the user to the mainmenu interface 400, while selecting confirm and new deposit confirms thedeposit and returns the user to the main deposit interface 500.

Selecting confirm and allocate can confirm the deposit and present theuser with an category selection interface 524, shown in FIG. 5e . Thecategory selection interface can present the user with a plurality ofcategories 526, of which the user can select one or more categories intowhich the user desires to allocate the deposited funds. Subsequently,the user can allocate a desired amount of deposited funds into theselected categories via an allocation interface 528. The user mayallocate the funds into selected categories 526 by percentage of thedeposit 530, or by a monetary amount 532. Software 300 can thencalculate and display the corresponding monetary amount or depositpercentage, based on the user's entry. Subsequently, the user can selectan allocate widget to be presented with a confirmation interface,displaying the user-entered allocations and a plurality of confirmationoptions, including confirm and finish, confirm and source, and confirmand new deposit. The functionality of the confirmation options may besubstantially the same throughout the various deposit interfaces.

Selecting confirm and source can confirm the deposit and present theuser with a deposit sourcing interface 534, shown in FIG. 5g . Thedeposit sourcing interface can present the user with a plurality ofcategories 536, of which the user can select one or more categories fromwhich the deposited funds were sourced. The user can then enter theamount of funds sourced from each selected category. Subsequently, theuser can select a source widget to be presented with a confirmationinterface, displaying the user-entered deposit source amounts and aplurality of confirmation options, including confirm and finish, confirmand allocate, and confirm and new deposit.

Turning back to FIG. 5a , a user can also choose to deposit funds byutilizing the electronic coin acceptor assembly 122 and the camera 128of apparatus 100. The user can select the electronic deposit option ininterface 500 to deposit coins via coin acceptor assembly 122, thecamera deposit option to deposit paper currency via camera 128, or thehybrid option to deposit both coins and paper currency via a combinationof the coin acceptor and the camera. Subsequently, software 300 canprompt the user, via one or more interfaces, to deposit coins via thecoin acceptor 122, and/or to place paper currency in front of camera128. When coin currency is being deposited, the coin acceptor assemblycan determine the denomination and quantity of each denomination ofcoins deposited and communicate the information to software 300. Onceall coin currency has been deposited, the user can indicate to software300 to deposit paper currency or to proceed to a deposit confirmationinterface. When paper currency is placed in front of camera 128,software 300 can analyze a captured image of the currency to determinethe denomination of the paper currency. The user can then indicate tosoftware 300 to scan additional paper currency, to deposit coincurrency, or to proceed to a deposit confirmation interface. The depositconfirmation interface, which may be substantially similar to interface520, can display the total amounts of coin and paper currency deposited,subdivided by denomination and indicating the quantity of eachdenomination deposited. The user can then select one a plurality ofconfirmation options, including confirm and finish, confirm andallocate, and confirm and new deposit, which may have functionalitysubstantially similar to that described above.

A user can withdraw funds from their account with apparatus 100 by usingthe Withdraw application. The user may withdraw funds via either a quickwithdrawal procedure or a detailed withdrawal procedure. The quickwithdrawal procedure enables the user to withdraw money from theiraccount without recording the savings allocations category from whichthe funds are being withdrawn and without recording the denominations ofthe funds. Conversely, the detailed withdrawal procedure enables theuser to record the savings allocations category from which the funds arebeing withdrawn, and/or the denominations of the funds.

Upon selecting the Withdraw application, the user may be presented witha menu interface and a choice of a quick withdrawal or a detailedwithdrawal. If the user selects the quick withdrawal, the user may bepresented with an entry box where the user can enter the monetary valueof the funds being withdrawn. The user can then elect to withdraw morefunds, or confirm the withdrawal and withdraw the funds, for example, byremoving cap 104 so as to access the user's compartment 106. Uponconfirmation, software 300 can display main menu interface 400.

If the user selects the detailed withdrawal, the user may be presentedwith a withdrawal category interface, which may be substantially similarto interface 524. The withdrawal category interface can present the userwith a plurality of categories, of which the user can select one or morecategories from which the user desires to withdraw the funds.Subsequently, the user may be presented with a withdrawal allocationinterface, which may be substantially similar to interface 528, whereinthe user can enter an amount of funds to be withdrawn from each of theselected categories. Subsequently, the user may be presented with afunds quantity interface, substantially similar to interface 508,wherein the user can enter the quantity of each denomination of eachcurrency type that is being withdrawn. As in interface 508, the totalsand subtotals may be manually entered by the user or automaticallycalculated by the software. Finally, the user may be presented with awithdrawal confirmation interface with can display to the user theamounts withdrawn of each fund type, as well as the total amountwithdrawn. The confirmation interface can also present the user withconfirmation options, including confirm and finish and confirm andwithdraw more.

Turning to FIGS. 6a-6c , the My Account application can display avariety of information and reports to the user regarding the status ofthe user's account. FIG. 6a shows an exemplary main account menuinterface 600, including a plurality of account-related reportingoptions 602 which the user can select to display further detail. Thereporting options can include, for example, Account Balance, DepositReports, Withdrawal Reports, Savings Allocations Reports, Savings GoalsReports, Sources Reports, Checks & IOUs Report, Gift Transfers Report,Income & Expenses Report, Net Worth Report, Life Points Rewards,Denominations Report, Projections & Trends and Activity Log.

If the user selects the Account Balance option on the main account menuinterface 600, an account balance interface can be displayed, includinga coin currency balance, paper currency balance, check/IOU balance,credit transfer balance, and total balance. A Mix Balance option canallow the user to view customized balances from two or more fundscategories.

Selecting the Deposit Reports option on the main account menu interface600 can display a deposit history interface 604, shown in FIG. 6b ,showing the history 606 of the user's deposits to their account. Forexample, the deposit interface can show the monetary values, dates, andtimes of a desired amount of previous deposits to the account, as wellas a total amount of the displayed deposits. The deposits interface canfurther allow the user to see deposits for a desired date range, to pageforward and back in the deposit history so as to display successiveranges of deposits, and to search deposits for a particular date or daterange or a specific deposit transaction. Furthermore, charts and graphsand statistics options can also be presented to the user. The user canselect the Charts & Graphs option to access a variety of graphicinformation and illustrations pertaining to deposit transactions,including but not limited to, column graphs, bar graphs, pie charts,line graphs and area graphs. The user can also select the Statisticsoption to access a variety of statistical information pertaining todeposit transactions, including but not limited to, data comparisonstatistics, means, medians and modes statistics, average daily, monthly,quarterly and yearly deposit statistics.

Additionally, a details option can be provided with each deposittransaction, which the user can select so as to display a depositdetails interface 608, shown in FIG. 6c . The deposit details interface608 can show the specific funds, denominations, and quantities depositedfor that transaction 610, as well as the allocations 612 and sources 614of the funds deposited in that transaction, if available. Options toallocate unallocated quantities of deposited funds or to sourceunsourced quantities of deposited funds can also be presented to theuser in the details interface.

Selecting the Withdrawal Reports option on the main account menuinterface 600 can display a withdrawal history interface, showing thehistory of the user's withdrawals from their account. The withdrawalhistory interface can be substantially similar to, and can havesubstantially similar functionality as the deposit history interface604, including withdrawal details, statistics, and charts and graphs, aswell as allocations of withdrawn funds.

Selecting the Savings Allocation Reports option on the main account menuinterface 600 can display savings allocation balance interface 616,shown in FIG. 6d . The savings allocation balance interface 616 candisplay a plurality of allocation categories 618 along with the amountsof funds 620 in the user's account that have been allocated to eachcategory. Such allocation categories can include, for example, Bills,School & Tuition, Emergencies, Lunch Money, Banking, Investments,Lending, My Business, Shopping, Gifts, Donations and Other. A total ofall allocated funds in the user's account as well as a total of allunallocated funds in the user's account can also be displayed. The usercan also be presented with options to allocate unallocated funds and toreallocate funds that have already been allocated. Options to displaycharts and graphs and statistics pertaining to the allocations of thefunds in the user's account can also be presented. The user can alsoselect any displayed category to shown a allocation category detailsinterface 622, shown in FIG. 6e . The allocation category detailsinterface 622 can show the history 624 of the allocations made by theuser into the particular category. For example, the allocation detailsinterface can show the monetary values, dates, and times of a desiredamount of the allocations made to that category, as well as a totalamount of the displayed allocations. The deposits interface can furtherallow the user to see allocations for a desired date range, to pageforward and back in the allocation history so as to display successiveranges of allocations, and to search allocation for a particular date ordate range or a specific allocation.

Selecting the Savings Goals option on the main account menu interface600 can display a savings goals interface, which can display a list ofthe savings allocation categories, along with a corresponding savingsgoal value for each category. The user can select a particular categoryto display savings goal details for that category, such as, for example,Today's Date, Savings Goal Start Date, Savings Goal End Date, SavingsGoal Amount, Current Saved Goal Balance, Goal Balance Remaining, TotalSave Days and Save Days Remaining. The user can further edit the savingsgoals details as desired to set particular savings goals and desireddates for reaching the goals.

Selecting the Sources Reports option on the main account menu interface600 can display a savings sources interface. The savings sourcesinterface can be substantially similar in configuration to the savingsallocations interface, and can display a plurality of funds sourcecategories along with the amounts of funds in the user's account thathave been sourced from each category. Such source categories caninclude, for example, Gifts, Couch, Change, My Job, Chores, My Business,Crowdfund, Found, Winnings, Allowance, Refunds, Borrowed and Other. Atotal of all sourced funds in the user's account as well as a total ofall unsourced funds in the user's account can also be displayed. Theuser can also be presented with options to source unsourced funds, aswell as to display charts and graphs and statistics pertaining to thesources of funds in the user's account. Selecting a source category candisplay to the user a source details interface. The source detailsinterface may be similar in configuration to the allocations detailsinterface, and can display detailed information pertaining to the sourcecategory, such as amount of funds in the category as well as the dateand time of sourcing. The user can also view funds sources for a desireddate range, to page forward and back in the source history so as todisplay successive ranges of sources, and to search sources for aparticular date or date range.

Selecting the Checks & IOUs Report option on the main account menuinterface 600 can display a checks and IOUs interface 626, shown in FIG.6f . The checks and IOUs interface 626 can display a history of theuser's deposits of checks and IOUs to their account. For example, theinterface 626 can show the monetary values, dates, and times 628 of adesired amount of previous check and IOU deposits to the account, anidentification 630 of each deposit as a check or IOU, as well as adetails option 632 for each deposit. The checks and IOUs interface canfurther allow the user to see deposits for a desired date range, to pageforward and back in the deposit history so as to display successiveranges of deposits, and to search deposits for a particular date or daterange or a specific deposit transaction. Furthermore, fields 634 showingthe total amount of check funds deposited, the total amount of IOU fundsdeposited, the total amount of check funds that have been converted tocash, the total amount of IOU funds that have been converted to cash,the remaining unconverted check funds, the remaining unconverted IOUfunds, and the total unconverted funds can also be shown. Selecting thedetails option pertaining to a particular check or IOU deposit can showthe value of the check or IOU deposit, the payer of the check or IOU,whether the check or IOU has been converted to cash, whether the checkor IOU has been redeposited as cash into apparatus 100, and the dates ofsuch conversion and redepositing.

Selecting the Gift Transfers Report option on the main account menuinterface 600 can display a gift transfers report interface showing ahistory of gift transfers into the user's account. The financialmanagement education system 200 can allow individuals, for examplefriends or family of a particular user, to make gift transfers to theuser's account. The transfers may be performed, for example, via a webinterface provided by server 206, wherein the done can execute atransfer from the donor's credit card, debit card, or bank account,directly to the account of the desired user.

The gift transfer interface can show the monetary values, dates, andtimes of a desired amount of previous gift transfers to the account, aswell as a details option for each gift transfer. The gift transferinterface can further allow the user to see gift transfers for a desireddate range, to page forward and back in the transfer history so as todisplay successive ranges of gift transfers, and to search gifttransfers for a particular date or date range or a specific transaction.Furthermore, fields showing the total amount of gift transfer received,the total amount of gift transfers that have been converted to cash, theremaining unconverted gift transfers, and the total number of gifttransfers can also be shown. Selecting the details option pertaining toa particular gift transfer can show the value of the gift transfer, thedonor of the gift transfer, whether the gift transfer has been convertedto cash, whether the gift transfer has been redeposited as cash intoapparatus 100, and the dates of such conversion and redepositing.

Selecting the Income and Expense Report option on the main account menuinterface 600 can display the income and expense report interface 636shown in FIG. 6g . The income and expense report interface 636 candisplay the user's income source categories 638, the incomes for eachcategory 340, and a total income amount 642. The income and expensereport interface 636 can also show the user's expense categories 644,the amount spent in each category 646, and the total expense amount 648.The net income 650 can also be shown. Details options may be providedfor each income and expense category.

Selecting details options for a category allow the user to view atransaction list for that category for a desired date range, to pageforward and back in the transaction list so as to display successiveranges of transactions, and to search transactions for a particular dateor date range or a specific transaction. Furthermore, charts and graphsand statistics options can also be presented to the user. Additionally,a details option can be provided for each transaction, which the usercan select so as to display the specific funds, denominations, andquantities used in that transaction, as well as the allocations andsources, and/or expense categories for the funds involved in thetransaction, if available.

Selecting the Net Worth Report option on the main account menu interface600 can display a net worth report interface, which may be substantiallysimilar to the income and expense report interface. The net worth reportinterface can display the user's assets categories, the amount of assetsin each category, and a total assets amount. The net worth reportinterface can also show the user's liability categories, the amount ofliabilities in each category, and the total liabilities amount. Thetotal net worth can also be shown. Details options may be provided foreach assets and liabilities category. Furthermore, charts and graphs andstatistics options can also be presented to the user.

Selecting the Life Points Rewards option on the main account menuinterface 600 can display a life points interface. The life pointsinterface can be substantially similar in configuration to the deposithistory interface 604, and can display a log of the user's life pointsactivity, a life points conversion report, and an option to convert lifepoints. Life points can be rewards given to a user in exchange for theperformance of certain activities. Life points can then be converted toa monetary value according to a conversion rate. Life points, theactivities for which life points are rewarded, the amount of life pointsrewarded for each activity, and the life point conversion rate may beset up by an administrator of apparatus 100 for each user of apparatus100. For example, an administrator may award 10 life points for readinga financial education website, 50 life points for achieving a presetsavings goal, and 20 life points for playing a financial game, and setup an exchange rate of one dollar for 50 life points. Once the userperforms the desired activity, the life points can be deposited into theuser's account. The user can then convert the life points into currencyat a desired time.

The life points activity log can display to the user a log of theinstances of life points rewards for a desired date range, to pageforward and back in the life point reward list so as to displaysuccessive ranges of rewards, and to search the reward list for aparticular date or date range. A total current life point amount and anoption to convert life points can also be displayed. Details options maybe provided for each life points reward instance. Selecting the detailsoptions can display details as to the particular life points reward,including date and time of reward, amount of life points rewarded, theindividual who rewarded the life points to the user, the action forwhich the life points were rewarded, the duration of the action, and thedate and time of the action.

Clicking on the life points conversion option on the life points menuinterface can display a life points conversion report, showing the totallife points awarded to the user, the total life points converted by theuser, and the remaining balance of unconverted life points. Clicking onthe convert life points option on the life points menu interface candisplay a life points conversion interface, which can show the user'scurrent life point balance and the conversion rate, and can furtherallow the user to enter an amount of life points to be converted into acash value.

Selecting the Denominations option on the main account menu interface600 can display a denominations report interface 652, shown in FIG. 6i .The denominations report interface 650 can display all the coindenominations 654 and all paper currency denominations 656 currently incirculation, as well as the quantity of notes or coins of eachdenomination that are in the user's account. The denominations reportinterface can further display the total amount of coins and papercurrency 658 in the user's account, subtotal cash values of the coinsand notes 660, and the total cash value 662 of the coins and notes inthe user's account.

Selecting the Projections and Trends option on the main account menuinterface 600 can display a projection and trends interface 664, shownin FIG. 6i . The projections and trends interface 664 can display datapertaining to the user's account in a variety of graphic forms, such ascolumn graphs, bar graphs, line graphs, and area graphs. The user canselect from a variety of categories 666 for which to display projectionsand trends, including Deposits, Withdrawals, Savings Allocations,Savings Goals, Sources and Life Points. For each category, the user caninput criteria 668 including a start date, a projection date, and achart type. The user can then select to analyze the category based onthe criteria, with the software returning a graphic chart display 670,shown in FIG. 6j , based on historical data and trends and showing afuture projection for the particular category.

Selecting the Activity Log option on the main account menu interface 600can display an interface showing the user's activity with software 300,including but not limited to, deposits, withdrawals, account access,credit transfers, profile changes, content downloads, resources access,demo trading activities, homework reviews, financial games played, fundraising activities, password changes, print activity, and so forth. Theactivity log can also display all activity for a desired date range, topage forward and back in the activity log so as to display successiveranges of activity, and to search the reward list for a particular dateor date range.

Additional utility applications 314 may be provided as part of software300. Such utility applications can provide the user with a variety ofactivities that facilitate financial education, entrepreneurshipeducation and life management in general by engaging in a variety ofactions and exercises. Some utility applications may be provided inconjunction with one or more affiliates 214 of the system for financialeducation, entrepreneurship education and life management 200.

Communications between software 300 and affiliates, such as retailers,banks, investment brokerage firms, and so forth, can be facilitated byWeb Services via the Internet or by an Application ProgrammingInterface. This can allow affiliates to provide a customized experiencefor the user via software 300. Furthermore, software 300 can receivedata-induced communications from the affiliate and display them to theuser. Data-induced communications can include audio and visualcommunications that can be transferred to a user's account after apredetermined set of data has been retrieved from the user's account bythe affiliated retailers, banks and investment brokerage firms.Data-induced communications can promote and reinforce the benefits ofbanking, debt-free consumption, saving money, investing in the stockmarket, and so forth. For example, affiliates could utilize data-inducedcommunications to send a variety of entertaining, congratulatory, ormotivating messages to the user that promote prudent savings andconsumption practices, such as achieving money savings goals orinvestment goals, messages of encouragement based on savings trends, andoffers for products and service based on the accumulated savings in theuser's account. As a further example, messages may be sent by anaffiliated retailer when the user has achieved a savings goal thatenables the purchase of a specific product or service, or when the userhas achieved certain savings goals in general. Messages may also be sentby an affiliate based on the user's money savings trends or based on theaccumulated cash savings in the user's account. Additional informationmay be sent to enhance communications with certain affiliates, forexample price negotiations, special and seasonal offers, and so forth.

The My Banking utility application can allow the user to learn the basicprinciples of banking by engaging in a variety of banking activities,exercises and games. The user can manage virtual bank accounts for thepurposes of gaining banking experience. The My Banking utility caninclude a Demo Banking function that allows the user to learn thefundamentals of commercial banking, including but not limited to,managing checking, savings and certificate of deposit accounts,depositing and withdrawing funds, using credit and debit cards, payingbills online, understanding overdraft protection, using automatic tellermachines and understanding bank statements and maintaining bank accountledgers. A demonstration bank account can be designed to simulate thefunctionality of a real bank account whereby the user can perform allthe banking activities normally associated with a real bank accountusing imaginary or virtual money.

The My Banking utility can further include a Commercial Banking functionwhich can provide the user with direct access links to the onlinesystems of affiliated commercial banks. The user can connect to theiraccount with an affiliated commercial bank and manage their account viasoftware 300.

Additional features of the My Banking utility can include BankingMessage Boards showing communications between the user and affiliatedbanking institutions, Bank Allocation balance showing the user's totalfunds for each bank account, Banking Games, providing interactive gamesand activities relating to banking, and Banking Resources, providingeducational and informational material regarding the banking industryand money management.

The My Investments utility application can allow the user to learn thebasic principles of investing in the stock market by buying and sellingstocks and bonds of real companies listed on the major stock exchangesutilizing a virtual demonstration trading account. A Demo Tradingfunction of the My Investments utility application can allow the user toengage in simulated trading in stocks and bonds through a virtualdemonstration trading platform using virtual or fictitious money. TheDemo Trading utility can allow the user to learn and understand thefundamentals of stock market investments, for example opening brokerageaccounts, researching stocks and bonds, understanding stock quotes,understanding spread prices, placing buy and sells orders, selectingshare allotments, understanding limit and stop orders and understandingbrokerage statements. The demonstration trading account can be designedto simulate the functionality of a real brokerage account whereby theuser can perform all the brokerage activities normally associated with areal brokerage account using virtual money for the purposes of gainingtrading experience without the risk of real monetary losses. The usercan execute trades based on real-time movements of stock and bond pricesof companies listed on the major stock exchanges in the United States.As an example, the demonstration trading platform could credit the userwith $100,000 in virtual money to buy and sell stocks and bonds andcreate trading portfolios of listed companies. Portfolios can be managedby the user as a way to learn, practice and test trading strategiesprior to engaging in actual trading. Stock and bond price quotes can bedisplayed in real time or with time interval delays. The demonstrationtrading platform also incorporates an entertaining feature that enablesthe user to create intra-household and inter-household trading groups inorder to compete against other users of apparatus 100 based on virtualstock and bond portfolio returns.

The My Investments utility can further include a Brokerage TradingStation function which can provide the user with direct access links tothe online systems of affiliated investment brokerage firms. The usercan connect to their account with an affiliated investment brokeragefirm and manage their account via software 300. The My InvestmentsUtility can include safeguards to ensure that trading is not beingcarried out by individuals under the age of 18, in accordance withapplicable securities laws. For example, an administrator user accountmay be required to grant access. In another embodiment, if an attemptwas made to access a brokerage trading platform, the camera and facialrecognition software could activate, scan and verify that the user isauthorized to access the brokerage trading platform. If the user isauthorized to access the brokerage trading platform, an administratorcan also establish a set of rules governing trading parameters, forexample establishing a limit on the monetary value of each stock or bondtrade, maximum value of portfolio exposure and price limitations onindividual stocks and bonds.

Additional features of the My Investments utility application caninclude Investments Message Boards, Investment Allocation Balance,Investment Games and Investment Resources.

The My Shopping utility application can allow the user to shop for andpurchase products and services from affiliated retailers, learnfinancial responsibility, and develop prudent consumption habits. The MyShopping utility can include a variety of functions that teach andpromote the benefits and values of prudent consumption habits, includingbut not limited to, debt-free consumption, saving for consumption,bargain shopping and delaying instant gratification.

The My Shopping utility can include a variety of functions, includingAbout My Shopping, showing general information, including instructionaland navigational information; Shopper Profile, showing the user'sshopping profile; Shopper Account, showing information pertaining to theuser's shopping account, such as a historical cash expenditure log andpending purchase orders, Affiliated Retailers, showing affiliates 214where the user can perform shopping activities; Search & RegisterProducts & Services, allowing the user to search for specific productsand services available for sale by the affiliated retailers usingkeyword searches; Group Shopper, allowing the user to create a teamshopping group that includes other intra-household and inter-householdusers of apparatuses 100 so as to secure discount pricing fromaffiliated retailers; Shopping Savings Goals, allowing the user tocreate and set savings goals for purchase of specific products andservices from affiliated retailers; Purchase Report, showing historicalinformation pertaining to all the products and services purchased by theuser; Bids & Offers, allowing the user to negotiate prices of desiredproducts and services with affiliated retailers thereby engaging inprice bargaining; Shopping Allocation Balance, the user's current cashbalance in the Shopping savings allocation category; and Discounts &Coupons Center, showing listing of discounts offers and coupons fromaffiliated retailers.

The My Chores utility can allow users and administrators, such asparents and guardians, to effectively transact and manage householdchore assignments. The My Chores utility can help users develop positivepersonality traits such as reliability, thoroughness, persistence anddedication. The administrators, such as parents and guardians, canmanage and assign chores to users and to create rewards for performingchores. A My Chores Log function can present to the user a chores loginterface 700, shown in FIG. 7a . The chores log interface 700 candisplay a list 702 of chore assignments. Each chore assignment can bemarked as new, as open or incomplete, or as completed. Additionalfunctions can include Search Chores, Next Chores, Charts & Graphs,Statistics, Chores Message Board and Life Points. The user can alsoselect the Search Chores function to access and display information on aspecific chore assignment or a range of job assignments set between twodates. The user can select the Next Chores function to access anddisplay information on the successive batch of chore assignments insequential order by dates. The user can select the Charts & Graphsfunction to access and display variety visual graphic information andillustrations pertaining to chore assignments, such as bar charts, piecharts, line graphs and area graphs. The user can also select theStatistics function to access and display a variety of statisticalinformation pertaining to chore assignments, such as data comparisonstatistics, means, medians and modes statistics, average daily, monthly,quarterly and yearly chore assignment statistics. The user can alsoselect the Chores Message Board function to access and display a messageboard that lists messages pertaining to chore assignments. The user canselect the Life Points function to access and display detailedinformation on the Life Points earned by the user for the successfulcompletion of chore assignments including the amount of Life Pointsearned.

For each chore, a details option 704 may be provided. Selecting thechore details option 704 for a particular chore can display a choredetails interface 706, shown in FIG. 7b . The chore details interface706 can display various information 708 relating to the chore, forexample, the date and time that the chore was assigned, the deadline forthe completion of the chore, the assignor of the chores, the monetaryamount the assignor shall pay the user to complete the chore, a moneyform for the chore payment, the number of life points the assignor shallreward the user to complete the chore, the non-cash reward the assignorshall reward the user to complete the chore, a description of the chore,and a message from the assignor of the chores. Additionally, the usercan send a message to the chore assignor. The chore details interface706 can also display an editable status 710 for the chore, which canshow whether the chore is new, read, open, completed, or closed.

The My Jobs utility can allow users and registered employers to transactand manage job assignments. The My Jobs utility can help users developpositive work ethics and habits such as resourcefulness, creativity,responsibility and self-reliance. The user can manage employmentopportunities and job assignments by utilizing the My Jobs utility,including searching and retrieving job assignments, communicating withregistered prospective employers, negotiating fees and income,self-marketing, documenting and tracking fees and income earned andcreating educational graphical illustrations that summarize jobassignments information and data.

Registered prospective employers, for example neighbors, communityhouseholds, schools and neighborhood businesses can post, assign andmanage jobs assignments via a website in communication with system 200,which can be hosted, for example, on server 206. These job assignmentscan then be displayed to users via the My Jobs utility. Administratorscan further review and approve prospective employers for a particularuser.

The My Jobs utility can display a job listing interface substantiallysimilar to chores log interface 700. The job listing interface canprovide a variety of functions, including Search Jobs for accessing anddisplaying information on a specific job assignment or a range of jobassignments set between two specified dates; Next Jobs, for accessingand displaying information on successive batch of jobs displayed insequential order by dates; a Jobs Message Board tile accessing anddisplaying a message board that lists all messages pertaining to pastjob assignments; Charts & Graphs, accessing and displaying a varietyvisual graphic information and illustrations pertaining to past jobassignments, such as bar charts, pie charts, line graphs and areagraphs; Statistics, for accessing and displaying a variety ofstatistical information pertaining to past job assignments, such as datacomparison statistics, means, medians and modes statistics, averagedaily, monthly, quarterly and yearly job assignment statistics; and LifePoints, for accessing and displaying detailed information on the LifePoints earned by the user from job assignments including reward pointsamounts and issue dates.

For each job assignment, a details option may be provided. Selectingdetails for a particular job can display a job details interface,substantially similar to chore details interface 706. Job details caninclude, for example, the date and time that the job was posted, thedeadline for the completion of the job, the employer, the monetaryamount the employer shall pay the user to complete the job, a money formfor the payment, the number of life points the employer shall reward theuser to complete the job, the non-cash reward the employer shall rewardthe user to complete the job, a description of the job, the contactinformation of the employer, and a message from the employer of the job.Additionally, the user can send a message to the employer. The jobdetails interface can also display the status of the job, for examplewhether the job posting was read, whether the job was accepted,completed or declined, and whether the job posting is open or closed.

The My Barter & Sales Exchange utility application can allow the user tobarter, sell and buy personal items by communicating with other users202 registered with system 200. This can provide the user with exposureto commerce, asset sales, raising funds, bargaining and trade ingeneral. The My Barter & Sale Exchange utility can allow the user toregister, list and advertise new or used personal items for barter orsale to other users of system 200, including but not limited to, videogames, clothing, sports equipment, comics, electronic equipment, toysand movies. The My Barter & Sale Exchange utility can also allow theuser to search for, purchase and barter products listed and advertisedby other users of system 200.

The Barter & Sale Exchange utility can include a variety of functions,including a user profile; a create listing function that allows the userto list an item on the exchange, including photo and video content forthe item, the name of the item, a unique product desertification number,new or used declaration, the age and condition of the item, the priceand information on what the item can be bartered for; and a Listed Itemsfunction, showing a list of all items available for sale and exchange.

The Listed Items function can display an interface showing the list ofitems with a photograph, price, identification and new or used statusfor each item. The Listed Items interface can further allow users tosearch for items by keyword or category. Each listed item can furtherhave a details option. Selecting the details option can display a largerimage of the item, additional description for the item, and options forbuying or bartering the item. When buying the item, the user can furthermake an offer on the item that is lower than the advertised price so asto bargain for the item. Additional functions in the details interfacecan allow the user to view a profile of the seller or to sent a messageto the seller.

Additional functions in the listed items interface can include MemberWish Lists, showing the user a listing of items that are listed aswanted items for barter or purchase by other users; Sales Report,allowing the user to access and display a historical report on all itemssold by the use; Purchase Report, allowing the user to access anddisplay a historical report on all items purchased by the user; BarterReport, allowing the user to access and display a historical report onall items bartered by the user; List Item, which can allow the user tocreate post and advertise items for barter and sale; and Wanted Items,which allows the user to create and post a wish list of desired productsfor barter and purchase.

The My Financial Planner utility can allow the user to create and managesimple financial plans that can help the user learn and understand howto track and manage spending, budget wisely, manage investments for thefuture and manage money in general.

The My Financial Planner utility can allow the user to create anddisplay savings goals for various savings categories such as bills,tuition, rainy day, lunch money, investments, weekends, business,shopping, gifts, donations, and general, as well as a universal savingsgoal incorporating all categories. The My Financial Planner utility canfurther allow the user to create and display a financial plan. Thefinancial plan may be tailored to the user's age, and could include oneor more of asset registration, liabilities registration, budgetingplans, and earnings and savings plans. Age-appropriate financial plantemplates may be provided to allow the users to easily create financialplans that are relevant to their needs.

The My Business World utility can allow the user to learn crucial skillsand qualities that are required to become an entrepreneur, such ascommunicating effectively with people, being comfortable leading,networking, developing self-confidence, thinking creatively, teambuilding, selling effectively, weighing pros and cons of potentialsolutions, proceeding wisely with instituting solutions, settingprofessional goals and understanding and embracing failures as learningopportunities. The My Business World utility can also allow the user tolearn the basic principles of business such as risk taking, organizing,recognizing opportunity, researching and basic accounting principles.

The My Business World utility can provide a variety of functions. Suchfunctions can include My Businesses, showing information pertaining tothe user's active and operating businesses, such as name of businesses,description of business activities and so forth; Start Up Businesses,which can present the user with a questionnaire regarding the name ofthe new business, start date, nature of business and a variety of otherinformation pertaining to starting new business; and Business Plans,which can present the user with a variety of template options forcreating basic business plans for a new business venture. Such functionscan also include Entrepreneurship Challenges, which can present the userwith a variety of business and entrepreneurship challenges created byadministrators such as parents and guardians, as well as affiliatedconsultants, business partners and the system and generated by software300 based on the user's age and general knowledge skills. Suchadministrators and affiliates can assign monetary, non-monetary, andlife point rewards for completion of business challenges, and canfurther create, assign and monitor custom business challenges for theuser.

Additional functions of the My Business World utility can includeBusiness Idea Center, which can provide the user with ideas on how tostart popular businesses for children; Business Resources, which canpresent the user with information and resources pertaining to businessin general, such as tips on starting and managing a small business andlinks to private and government organizations websites that promote andsupport youth entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurship Games, which canprovide interactive games that can teach and inspire the user to start abusiness and become an entrepreneur; My Business Website, which canprovide utility tools that enable the user to create and launch businesswebsites; Entrepreneurship Mantras, which can display business andentrepreneurship mantras on the streamer; Business Allocation Balance,showing the cash account balance that has been allocated to the MyBusiness savings allocation category, as well as projections and trends;and Business Accounting which can provide information that can allow theuser to learn and understand basic business accounting principles, suchas managing business accounting ledgers, understanding profit & lossreports, creating sales forecasts and reports, understanding revenues &income reports and taxation. Ask an Entrepreneur, which can allow theuser to ask entrepreneurial and business related questions to affiliatedbusiness consultants and entrepreneurs via software 300;

The My Crowdfunding utility can allow the user to easily create, launchand manage crowdfunding campaigns via a website provided as part ofsystem 200. The My Crowdfunding utility can allow a user to raise moneyfrom one or more contributors to fund the user's specified cause, suchas new business ventures, charitable funding raising, communityprojects, special causes, school projects and events and so forth. TheMy Crowdfunding utility can provide a variety of functions, includingCreate & Launch Campaign, which can allow the user to createcrowdfunding campaigns using a variety of templates, and establish rulesfor the campaigns such as funding goals, disbursement parameters,expiration of the campaign and fund limitations and denominations; MyCampaigns, which can present a list of the user's campaigns; MonitorCampaigns, which can display information and data pertaining to theuser's fundraising campaigns, such as contributed funds, credittransfers, fund balances, donor or contributors' information, activitylogs and the current rules governing the fundraising campaign;Crowdfunding Ideas & Tips, which can display ideas for creatingcrowdfunding campaigns and tips on marketing crowdfunding campaigns,Crowdfunding Archives, which can display the user's expired and inactivecrowdfunding campaigns; Contributors, which can display informationregarding individual donors or entities who have contributed funds tothe user's campaigns, such as names, contact information and historicalmonetary contributions; and Campaign Reports which can displayinformation pertaining to the user's active and inactive crowdfundingcampaigns, such as the name of campaign, the campaign beneficiaries,campaign commencement date, the campaign duration and expiration date,funding objective, progress reports, projections charts and graphs and alog detailing all donor or contributor information, such as the name ofdonor or contributor, date of contribution, time of contribution, amountof contribution and the money form of the contribution.

The My Homework utility can allow the user to manage their homeworkassignments and can further allow administrators as well as affiliatessuch as schools and teachers to assign homework that is related topersonal finance, money, economics, and so forth.

The My Homework utility can include a variety of features and functions,including My Homework Assignments, which can display a log of the user'shomework assignments, including pending assignments and new assignments;Calendar, which can display a monthly calendar showing the user'shomework assignments receipt dates and due dates; Scheduler, which canallow the user to create and organize a schedule for homeworkassignments; Prioritizer, which can allow the user to organize andprioritize homework assignments in order of due dates; Time Manager,which can allow the user to efficiently manage time for homeworkassignments and display time logs showing the time taken for previoushomework assignments; School Messages, showing a message log to the userfrom the school, Grade Tracker, showing the user's school grade history;Search Homework, allowing the user to search past assignments by keywordor date; and Homework Archives, showing a log of the user's pasthomework assignments.

The My Life Points utility can allow the user and the administrators totransact and manage a rewards payment program that can motivate the userto frequently engage with and use the various financial learning,entrepreneurship learning and life management utilities and programs ofsoftware 300 and apparatus 100.

Life Points are non-monetary reward points that can be earned,accumulated and converted to money by the user based on a pre-setconversion rate established by an administrator. The administrator canreward the user with Life Points for engaging with the educational andentertaining utilities, programs, games, exercises and resources, ofsoftware 300; for example, by trading with an investment demo account,managing a demo bank account, creating crowdfunding campaigns, startinga business, earning money through jobs, selling unwanted personal items,achieving savings goals, managing real bank accounts, trading stockswith real investment accounts, donating to charity, reading financialwebsites, playing financial games and so forth. The administrator canalso use life points to reward the user for successfully completingchores, job and homework assignments. Software 300 can track and recordall the user's usage activities and generate reports detailing the usageactivities, for example access start times, access termination times,total usage duration and the nature of activities or actions the userengaged in, the utility programs utilized, the games played and the webresources accessed. The administrator can use the administratorinterface to obtain the user's usage and activity information, to rewardlife points, to establish life points conversion rate and schedules, andso forth.

For the user, the Life Points utility can display a rewardable actionsinterface 800, shown in FIG. 8. The rewardable actions interface 800 candisplay to the user a list 802 of actions which are eligible for a lifepoints reward or for which life points have been rewarded, includingdetails such as the rewarder of the life points, the action for whichthe life points were rewarded, the completion date or due date of theaction, and the amount of life points rewarded.

The My Website utility can allow the user to create and manage personalwebsites via the interfaces of software 300. The My Website utility canprovide a variety of functions, including My Website Library, which canpresent links to the user's active websites, and display a list of theuser's deactivated websites; Create & Launch Websites which can provideauthoring tools and templates that allow the user to create and launchwebsites; and Website Idea Center which can provide to the user variousideas for creating websites.

The My Life Boards utility can allow the user to create and manage acollection of artistic pin boards, which can let the user collectvarious images, articles, and other content from software 300, fromaffiliates 214, and from the internet, and to clip the content to thelife board. The My Life Boards utility can provide a variety offunctions, including My Life Board Library, which can show the user'sactive life boards; My Life Board Ideas, which can provide the uservarious ideas for creating life boards; and Create & Launch, which canprovide the user with authoring tools and templates for creating lifeboards.

The My Games utility can provide the user with a variety of educationaland entertaining games related to personal finance, money management,business, entrepreneurship and life in general. The games may be playedin single-player mode by the user, or may be played in cooperation oragainst other users of an apparatus 100 in a single household, or remoteusers of other apparatuses 100 that are registered with system 200. TheMy Games utility can provide a variety of game categories, includingbusiness-related games, finance-related games, life-related games, andmoney-related games.

The My Private Advisor utility can allow the user to consult withregistered affiliates of system 200 who can offer professional advicerelated to a variety of topics. For example, the user can receive advicerelating to topics such as money & finance, school matters, sports &health, starting a business, social matters, friends and family and lifein general, and so forth. The advice may be provided in a discreet andanonymous manner. The My Private Advisor utility can present the userwith various advisor categories, including General Advisor, LifeAdvisor, Money & Finance Advisor, School Advisor, Sports & HealthAdvisor, Business Advisor, Entertainment Advisor and Social Advisor. Theuser can select one of the categories and enter their query into afield. The query can then be sent to the selected advisor who canprovide a response in due course.

The My Financial Resources utility can allow the user to create andorganize libraries of educational and informative web resources relatedto personal finance, financial literacy and money in general. The MyFinancial Resources utility can provide several functions, includingNext Resources, allowing the user to access and display successivegroups of resource lists; The Create Library, allowing the user tocreate a resource libraries; Search Resources, allowing the user toaccess the web to search for personal financial, financial literacy andmoney resource websites, and to add desired resource websites to thelibrary; Recommend Resources, allowing the user to automaticallygenerate a list of recommended personal financial, financial literacyand money resource websites resources; and Press, allowing the user toaccess a variety of news and press content pertaining to personalfinancial, financial literacy and money resources.

The My Message Board utility can provide a central location fordisplaying communications to and from the user, and to view a log of allincoming and outgoing messages, including audio, video, and email, aswell as messages within system 200, including messages between the userand administrators, between the user and affiliates, and between theuser and other users. Messages related to affiliated banks, affiliatedbrokerage investment firms, prospective employers, affiliated retailers,Barter & Sales Exchange sellers, Barter & Sales Exchange buyers, fundcontributors, friends, family members, parents, administrators,charities, community organizations, school teachers and other users maybe shown in the My Message Board utility.

The My Chat Room utility can allow the user to create, manage, and visitchat rooms, forums and blogs for interacting with other users registeredwith system 200. The My Chat Room utility can include a list ofavailable chat rooms and forums, as well as options to create andterminate chat rooms and forums, and to invite other users to the chatrooms and forums.

The My Money Facts utility can provide the user with a variety ofinformation and facts pertaining to personal finance, financialliteracy, and money in general. The My Money Facts utility can presentto the user a variety of topics, for example, History of Money, UnitedStates Currency, World Currencies, Amazing Money, Fun Money Facts andQuote of the Day. The user can select a topic to view furtherinformation regarding to the topic.

The Life Share utility can allow the user to access and play a varietyof educational multimedia materials that have been created and posted byaffiliates such as educators, banks and investment brokerage firms. Forexample, such material can include video tutorials pertaining topersonal finance and money, banking, the stock market, investing,entrepreneurship, and so forth. The user can select a desirededucational material from a list provided by the Life Share Utility.

The Life Hub News and Press utility can display to the user informationregarding apparatus 100, system 200, software 300, and so forth. Suchinformation can include new and upcoming software programming releases,new services releases, new retail, bank and investment firm affiliatesand upcoming events and schedules, as well as any other relevantinformation.

Software 300 can include a separate interface for administrators 204that can allow the administrators to access administrator-only featuresand to set permissions for users 202. The administrators interface caninclude a variety of functions, including Parental Controls, UserAccounts, Life Points, Chores & Allowance, Usage Log, Mobile, Checks &IOUs, Notifications & Alerts, Third Party Approvals and Messages.

The Parental Controls function can allow administrators to create andactivate specific restrictions and filters for the user for blocking orfiltering certain content, information and resources including webcontent, investment trading platforms and utility applications. Theadministrator can also establish online privacy settings for the user.Additionally, the Parental Controls function can include a monitoringutility that allows the administrator to monitor, in real time, theuser's activities on apparatus 100 and on other devices, for example byaccessing a website hosted on server 206 using another computing deviceor a mobile device.

The User Accounts function can allow administrators to access anddisplay information regarding the accounts of users that are registeredon apparatus 100, including account balances, deposit and withdrawallogs, account reports, gaming activities, jobs and chores activity logs,barter and sales activity logs, shopping activities, wish-listinformation, real and demo banking activities, real and demo trading andinvestment activities, message logs, web browser histories and otherinformation and data. The User Accounts function can also allowadministrators to create a universal access password that can allowadministrators to access administrator functions from any interface ofsoftware 300.

The Life Points function can allow administrators to create, registerand manage actions that are rewardable with life points, as well asschedules and conversion rates. The Chores & Allowance function canallow administrators to create, register and manage chore assignmentsand allowance schedules for users. The Usage Log function can allowadministrators to access and display usage logs for each user ofapparatus 100. The Checks & IOUs function can allow administrators tocreate, register and manage a log of checks and IOUs so as to record andsave information pertaining to users' checks and IOUs. The Notifications& Alerts function can allow administrators institute and manage mobileand email notifications and alerts, as well as rules for issuingnotifications and alerts, based on desired activity in a user's account.The Third Party Approvals function can allow administrators to approveuser communications with affiliates 214 of system 200, includingaffiliated banks, affiliated investment brokerage firms, affiliatedretailers and prospective employers. The Mobile function can allowadministrators to determine which users can connect to system 200 via amobile device. The Messages function can allow administrators to createand manage a message board and to send to and receive messages fromusers.

Software 300 can further provide age-appropriate programming to users202 of apparatus 100. Users may be required to provide their age whenregistering an account with apparatus 100. Based on the age of the user,software 300 can vary the selection of features available to the user.

For example, for users aged between three and six, software 300 canblock access to more complex financial tools and utilities, and displaysimple content, allowing the younger user to interact with apparatus 100in a limited scope. Actions such as depositing coins can triggerentertaining age appropriate animations on the screen display. As theuser becomes older, software 300 can increase the user's access toadditional utility applications.

Additionally, software 300 can include a variety of multimediaprogramming and content, such as sounds, animations, videos and soforth. The multimedia content can be provided to users of software 300at any desired point or as a result of any desired interaction. Forexample, multimedia content can be shown to welcome users upon log in,upon selection of a particular utility application, upon completing anactivity such as depositing or withdrawing money, or upon reaching adesired savings goal. Additionally, frequency and content of themultimedia may differ based on the age of the user, with younger usersreceiving simpler and more frequent content than older users. Themultimedia content may be stored on the storage medium 138 of apparatus100 or may be streamed or downloaded from server 206 of system 200.Additionally, users can register with system 200 to receive additionalmultimedia content as desired.

Software 300 can include a library of multimedia content that can beintegrated into various aspects of software 300 and utilized so as toprovide an engaging and age-appropriate experience to the user. Forexample, for younger users, the multimedia content can engage theyounger user's imagination so as to motivate the user to use apparatus100 and learn personal finance, form positive money habits and learnimportant life skills.

The multimedia content can be provided to greet, encourage andcongratulate the user for a variety of reasons, for example, specialoccasions, achievements, and milestones, as well as any other desireduser interaction with software 300. As examples, cartoons and animationscould greet, congratulate and/or rally the user after accessing theiraccount on the Home screen. For example, multimedia content such ascartoons and animations could be displayed to the user for a variety ofachievements, such as saving a sufficient amount of money to purchasedesired pre-registered product or service, donating money to a charity,attaining pre-set savings goals, selling personal items, winningfinancial games, starting a new business, achieving specific schoolgrade scores, and so forth. The multimedia content can include licensedwell-known characters, or characters proprietary to the financialeducation, entrepreneurship education and life management system 200.

Thus, the embodiments described herein can allow users to learn aboutfinance, fiscal responsibility, and entrepreneurship, as well as tomanage many aspects of their lives simply via one stand-alone apparatus.

The foregoing description and accompanying figures illustrate theprinciples, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of theinvention. However, the invention should not be construed as beinglimited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Additionalvariations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated bythose skilled in the art.

Therefore, the above-described embodiments should be regarded asillustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should beappreciated that variations to those embodiments can be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention asdefined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for at least one of financialeducation, entrepreneurship education and life management, comprising: ahousing; at least two storage compartments within the housing, each ofthe at least two storage compartments corresponding to a separate useraccount for each of two or more different users; at least one coinacceptor assembly adapted to receive a coin, determine the denominationof the coin, and deposit the coin in a predetermined storage compartmentfrom the at least two storage compartments; electronic circuitrycommunicatively coupled to the coin acceptor assembly; a user interfacecommunicatively coupled to the electronic circuitry; an image capturedevice operationally linked to the electronic circuitry; wherein theelectronic circuitry includes at least one non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing software and a processor adapted toexecute the instructions.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising a motion sensor communicatively coupled to the electroniccircuitry and adapted to activate the image capture device upondetecting movement in a predetermined area.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the storage medium further comprises at least one databasecontaining user data and multimedia data for use with the software. 4.The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the software includes facialrecognition software.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the processoris configured to receive an identification image of a user engaging theapparatus, run the facial recognition software, identify, based on theidentification image, whether the user is registered to a correspondinguser account, and authorize access to the user data of the identifiedcorresponding user account.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theelectronic circuity further includes a main memory, a display controllerand graphics processing unit, at least one wired communicationsinterface, at least one wireless communications interface, at least onecommunication adapter, and a sound processing unit.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 6, further comprising speakers communicatively coupled to thesound processing unit.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising amicrophone communicatively coupled to the electronic circuity anddisposed in a location facing a user engaging the apparatus.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 1, further comprising a lip coupled to a side wall ofeach of the at least two storage compartments and projectinghorizontally therefrom into an interior of the compartment, the lipadapted to facilitate removal of each of the at least two storagecompartments from the housing.
 10. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein theprocessor is further adapted to provide age-appropriate, multimediaprogramming for each of the two or more different users from criteriawithin the database relating to each of the corresponding user accounts.11. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a pocket coupled toeach of the at least two storage compartments and adapted to storepaper-based currency.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising acap removably coupled to the housing.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12,wherein the at least one coin acceptor assembly is disposed in aninterior of the cap.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at leastone coin acceptor assembly comprises at least one coin slot and at leasttwo coin distribution channels.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, whereinthe at least two coin distribution channels each correspond to one ofthe at least two storage compartments.
 16. The apparatus of claim 1,further comprising a base detachably coupled to the housing, the basehaving a plurality of footpads disposed on a bottom surface thereof. 17.The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a keyboard and a pointingdevice communicatively coupled to the user interface.
 18. The apparatusof claim 17, wherein the keyboard is retractable into a cavity definedwithin the base.
 19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the pointingdevice is one of a mouse, trackball, and trackpad.
 20. The apparatus ofclaim 16, further comprising a plurality of telescoping legs coupled tothe base.